I guess you just never know what’s going on in someone’s head. And when you found out bad news, you can’t help but think “what could I have done to have prevented this?”.
So, quick backstory: when I started finding myself in middle school, I went through a metal phase, which I discussed once before. One band that really spoke to me was Kittie. They became my ultimate favorite band, making me feel like I too can be a bad ass chick. I bought all their albums, t-shirts, my first concert was to see them, and I even learned html coding to create a fan site on the now defunct Geocities. The band is known for excessive lineup changes, and back in 2005, they added Tara McLeod and Trish Doan on guitar and bass. Being one year into my fan site, I was eager to do what I could to expand the site and even get a first scoop. I immediately contacted the both of them for small interviews.
Eventually I began a site dedicated to just Trish (while running the general Kittie fan site) and she was amazing enough to participate and contribute. I even created a short-lived “Ask Trish” section where fans submitted questions. After a while the site died down as I went to college, and Trish eventually ended up leaving the band due to health problems back in 2008.
I kept up with the Kittie site, going through all the issues of my site being hacked, losing all the content I had, switching domains, and rebuilding. Even after all of that, I still kept going. The band also had their ups and downs, and Trish eventually rejoined in 2012 when their replacement bassist left. They slowed down their touring and went on a hiatus, where they announced they would be working on a documentary and tell-all book. Their indiegogo campaign reached its goal the same day, and even doubled!
Trish was a photography and video editing wizard so she helped with the promo photos and whatnot. While all of this documentary stuff was in the works, she moved to Australia, in which she struggled with the migration process since it of course is a lengthy and expensive process. She was determined, and I give her so much credit for that. I moved to the other side of the US and couldn’t even make it for six months. It’s not easy all at, and for her to move to the other side of the world is certainly a commitment. Anywho, the band was kinda silent as nothing much was happening. Trish was struggling in Australia and even though she occasionally posted something on Twitter about it, it seemed she was struggling alone. I guess things got too difficult and she felt like she was in a hole. I’m sure her family and her closest friends knew the extent of her struggles but when I found out the news of her passing the other day, I was shocked.
Running her website way back when, she became familiar with me. We exchanged messages via Myspace and eventually Facebook. I met her after Kittie shows and she was always just so kind and fun. Trish and the rest of Kittie knew how to make fans feel like friends and this is why I loved their scene so much. I could go on and on about my days being active in the Kittie community, all the friends I made, all the things I learned about the web world and the music industry, but for now I just want to remember Trish and cherish all the memories I have with her.
Ugh.
R.I.P. Trish Doan ♥
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